Phoenix hopes to tap Bay Area exodus

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A Phoenix business association is trying to lure Bay Area residents and companies to Arizona with the promise of cheaper housing, faster commutes
and even more sunshine. The Greater Phoenix Economic Council has hired two
dozen vehicles, wrapped in advertisements, to circle Silicon Valley
highways for three months. (Photo courtesy of the Greater Phoenix Economic
Council)

Would you trade your long commute for hotter weather? A few less museums, restaurants and concerts for a much cheaper home?

A Phoenix-area business group has launched a campaign — complete with shrink-wrapped SUVs and a slightly snarky Twitter account — to lure frustrated Bay Area residents and companies away from Silicon Valley.

“The quality of life is changing” in the Bay Area, said Chris Camacho, president and CEO of the Greater Phoenix Economic Council. On the other hand, he said, Phoenix “is the fastest-growing market in the U.S.”

Bay Area Council spokesman Rufus Jeffris was not impressed: “We want to thank Phoenix for taking the time to remind us that Phoenix exists.”

The Arizona campaign is the latest effort by out-of-towners looking to tap into growing Bay Area angst over high housing costs, taxes and traffic.

Two-thirds of Bay Area residents say the region has gotten worse during the last five years, according to a February survey conducted for this news organization and the Silicon Valley Leadership Group. Almost half of residents polled said they are likely to leave in the next few years.

Despite a booming economy adding jobs and attracting new students and workers, the Bay Area has seen outward migration increase in recent years. According to a study by the regional think-tank Joint Venture Silicon Valley, the region gained about 62,000 foreign-born residents between July 2015 and July 2018, while 64,300 residents left.

Phoenix boosters want to capture talented workers and growing companies. About 60,000 Californians moved to Arizona in 2017, making it a popular spot for the Golden State diaspora.

The campaign is expected to last three months, with vehicles circling the Bay Area’s highways and touting a move to the desert. The effort is supplemented by a website comparing the two regions (in greater Phoenix, “300+ golf courses” and “live a life where they stress a bit less”) and a Twitter feed, @CAstruggles, with about 15,000 followers.

And oh, by the way, the median home price in Phoenix is $256,000, a mere fraction of the Bay Area’s $900,000 median price.

High prices and a baby daughter inspired Anthony Kennada to leave the Bay Area for the Phoenix suburbs about eight months ago. He still wears a Giants cap, roots for the Warriors and has a 650 area code. But he bought a five-bedroom house with a pool — he declined to say for how much — and has a commute far shorter than the 90 minutes it sometimes took to travel from his small, rental home in Lafayette to his office in Redwood City.

Kennada, 32, worked for several Silicon Valley startups and lived in Palo Alto, San Francisco and the East Bay. With a wife and one-year-old daughter, he struggled to find a balance between commuting, family and saving for a home.

“I wrestled with a spread sheet in the Bay Area,” said Kennada, chief marketing officer for the software company Gainsight. “I couldn’t figure out how to do it.”

Carl Guardino, CEO of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, said other regions, states and countries routinely come to the Bay Area and try to poach talent and companies. The group even hosted former Texas Gov. Rick Perry on his pirating expedition — and the governor returned the favor when Bay Area officials visited Austin.

Guardino said the region regularly points out its shortcomings in an effort to improve and serve as a worldwide hub for innovation.

He agreed with one point made by Arizona supporters: “Phoenix is red hot. As a matter of fact, it’s a 112 red-hot degrees.”

Louis Hansen covers housing issues for the Bay Area News Group and is based at The Mercury News. He's won national awards for his investigations and feature stories. Prior to joining the organization, he was an investigative reporter at The Virginian-Pilot, where he covered state government, the military and criminal justice.

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